Introduction
While wild bees are acknowledged to be extremely important pollinators for many plant species, honey bees (Apis mellifera spp.) remain the most economically and easily managed pollinator of the main crop monocultures worldwide (Klein et al., 2007). In recent years, the decline in pollinators, both wild and managed, has gained much attention (Samson-Robert et al., 2017), prompting a considerable amount of research (Lundin et al., 2015). In light of these studies, a suite of numerous, and interacting factors have been highlighted as possible risk factors having an impact on bee decline and mortality. These risks include the loss of foraging resources due to habitat loss and its homogenization (Kennedy et al., 2013), the introduction of invasive species (Monceau et al., 2014), climate change (Dennis and Kemp, 2016; Murcia Morales et al., 2020; Neumann & Carreck, 2015; Switanek et al., 2017), parasites (Goulson et al., 2015; Muli et al., 2014), pathogens (Doublet et al., 2015; Mondet et al., 2014), loss of genetic diversity (Oldroyd, 2007), exposure to pesticides (Cresswell et al., 2012; James and Xu, 2012; Johnson et al., 2010; Nazzi et al., 2012) and beekeeping management practices (Giacobino et al., 2017; Steinhauer, 2017; vanEngelsdorp et al., 2012).
Honey bees are managed pollinators, their survival relies thus on the competence and experience of the beekeeper (Steinhauer et al., 2018). Nevertheless, the impacts of beekeepers ‘knowledge and management practices have often been overlooked (Jacques et al., 2017). When facing (e.g.) high pest pressure, beekeepers can reduce hazards through physical or chemical interventions (Giacobino et al., 2014). While good management can alleviate stress, poor management can accentuate it. Good management practices or good risk management must be developed with proper education and experience (Steinhauer et al., 2018).
The Belgian beekeeping context is particular as the majority of beekeepers are hobbyists (not professional/commercial). Honey bees are largely kept in stationary apiaries, for honey production, by amateur beekeepers with relatively small operations and often, with empirical, local, and heterogeneous bee management practices. Beekeepers’ main occupation and source of income lay outside beekeeping; they keep bees because of the activity satisfaction they derive and the intrinsic values attached to beekeeping.
Before applying adequate risk management, beekeepers need to perceive the impact of risks on the colony, as well as the benefits of the actions to undertake. Understanding beekeepers’ perception of risks affecting honeybee health and mortality is essential to analyse the reasons for adopting or rejecting some beekeeping management practices. Identifying and preventing risks associated with beekeeping management may help avoid exacerbating colony mortality rate (Giacobino et al., 2014).
In this study, a grounded theory from health psychology was used to build a framework adapted to the beekeepers: the Health Belief Model (HBM) (Janz and Becker, 1984; Rosenstock, 1974) (Figure 1 ). The HBM was specifically developed for the understanding of health-related behaviour (Vande Velde et al., 2015). It has four key concepts: (i) perceived susceptibility is an individual’s belief that a risk can occur. The relationship of perceived susceptibility to taking a risk management action is modified by (ii) perceived severity of the risk, (iii) the perceived benefits of risk management to mitigate the risk and its consequences, and the (iv) perceived barriers to taking action. Beyond these, actions or intentions, health responsibility, and influences can also modify the relationship of perceived susceptibility to action. Actions (or intentions) include recognized clinical signs, knowledge, and education. It is expected that greater levels of perceived risk combined with strong perceptions of the benefits of action will lead to increased motivation to act in better ways. Other intangible elements of risk perception and other motivations for strategy adoption within animal health risk management often remain unidentified though research on these issues is beginning to emerge (Ellis-Iversen et al., 2010; Jansen et al., 2009; Valeeva et al., 2007). This may be one of the reasons why the adoption of risk management strategies is hard to predict and influence (Valeeva et al., 2011).
This cross-sectional survey aimed to estimate the current state of perception of risks related to bee health and mortality at the level of hobbyist beekeepers in Belgium and to assess a possible association between colony mortality, the four key concepts as well as the demography, the actions or intentions, the health responsibility, and the influences.
Conventional production economics suggests that producers’ decisions are essentially economic ones, driven by the desire to maximize household welfare, net income, or profit (Garforth, 2015). As the majority of Belgian beekeepers are hobbyists, we need to look beyond economic drivers in the search for an understanding of beekeeper’s decisions and behaviour.